I lost 54 pounds since Jan. 2014.

BeckiGetBetter

Hello All,
I am new to the blogging scene, but have started a chapter in my life that is rich in discipline, determination, and focus. I am on my way to becoming a personal trainer, and almost at the end of my weight loss journey, and the beginning of my permanent healthy lifestyle. I plan on becoming Insanity certified, but am currently working through the program myself.

I know as I began researching the newfound ways of the fitness and weight loss world, I found myself reading into how other individuals managed to drop weight, what tips and tricks worked for them, and so on and so forth. Considering I have managed to drop 54 pounds in 6 months (In January 2014 I weighed in at 200lbs, and today June 2014 I weigh 146lbs. Went from size 11/12 to a size 5/6) I thought that was a significant amount of weight loss in less time that would be expected.

I figured someone may want to know about my journey to adapt bits and pieces of what worked for me into their own plan.

The first thing that helped me tremendously was KNOWLEDGE. (Pinterest health and fitness boards are wonderful) Researching what foods you should eat and what you shouldn’t. Reading nutritional labels is absolutely necessary, as you want to avoid excessive sodium and added sugars or ‘chemicals’. Knowing which foods and herbs can assist you with your healthy goals. Utilizing your metabolism is a great way to knock off the pounds; there are rules that you can follow to help boost your natural calorie burn. Avoid anything packaged or frozen. If you eat canned vegetables, rinse them. Most of the sodium is held in the liquid. Frozen fuits are OK because they are frozen at peak ripeness which also means peak nutrients. CUT OUT ALL SODA! I don’t care how much you like your Dew, every 12oz is about 170 Calories. Yikes! Alcohol can be a calorie killer too, so try to keep your consumption on the minimum. Fill your fridge with fresh produce. Apples, pomegranates, bananas, canteloupe, spinach, broccoli, avacado are just a few great choices. Foods high in potassium such as canteloupe or banana’s can help reduce bloat from sodium if you think you’ve overdone it on that salt. Get rid of that white bread, and flour tortillas. We eat a lot of wraps, but only buy whole wheat (make sure it says 100% whole wheat). Drink green tea in the mornings, it has a little umph of caffeine to get you started, and will boost your metabolism for the day too. But before you have your tea, start your day off with a glass of ice water, if you have lemon you can spice it up a little bit with that. I’ve realized oatmeal or eggs tend to make for the best breakfast. At lunch, I try to make it my more carb heavy meal of the day, ideally with some form of protein and a vege or fruit. And if possible I base my dinner on vegetables and protein. I am a vegetarian, so I may have a boca burger (though I love these and they have lots of protein in them, they are slightly sodium rich, so consume in moderation), or some beans,or occasionally I’ll try my luck with tofu. Skim milk and yogurt are prominent in my fridge. Though I refuse to buy Greek yogurt as it produces toxic waste to create. Stay educated, know what you are eating. If you overeat? Try konjac root supplement, it’s a fiber based pill that makes you feel full. My husband and I took those for a month until our stomach adjusted to the smaller portions we started eating. After that, we made the responsibility of portion control our own. You don’t want to feel like to HAVE to rely on pills, its about finding the self control within yourself, and disciplining yourself into sticking with smaller plates. It’s a starter, not the answer.

On the fitness side of the regiment, start slow. Do a few circuits of some light cardio and strength training moves. But do it everyday. You have to establish a habit, or you will forever despise your workouts. Make them routine and you will fall in love with sweating.

The most important part of working out is pushing your hardest through the entirety of your work out. Don’t worry if you are just starting out, it will get easier to make it to the end of your workout! Keep at it daily (even if your muscles are sore, workout! When you start moving the lactic acid will start to flow and it will feel fabulous!) It takes time to get to the point of pushing through the aches and pains of growing muscles. Give your body time to adjust, but if you feel comfortable, it’s time to kick it up a notch.

I have done workouts from bodyrock.tv and Shaun T.’s Insanity and Asylum, as well as many of Fitnessblender.com’s cardio kickboxing routines.
Each of these options are great. Personally, a month of bodyrock (I did their Catching Fire Challenge) was a great way to start! It is short sessions of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) about 12 minutes each day. Don’t get me wrong, those girls hit you fast and hard!
After so long, 12 minutes for me wasn’t cutting it, and repeating the 12 minute circuit just wasn’t keeping my attention. I mixed it up with some 30-45 minute Fitness Blender workouts; I really enjoy the kick boxing routines, they REALLY torch calories, and it’s low impact, so you hardly know you’re working…well until the end, then you don’t want to lift your arms.
After several weeks of that, I decided to go for the gold and started with Insanity Asylum first. Let me say hot damn, it was strenuous. I was in meh, mediocre shape by this point, probably down to about 165-175lbs. Asylum is more strength based. It required much more skill and focus athletically than Insanity does, but it made the original insanity program easier even though it took all I had to get through asylum. It is all a challenge, be prepared mentally most of all! You're body will tell you never to push play, but you still do. I have made it through month 1 of Insanity, and felt like a champ by the last week. Starting month 2, I feel like I should’ve pushed even harder through month one than I did (and I thought I was really going at it!), so if you’re going to do it, really GO FOR IT. Month two gets intense, be ready for it! I am very eager to see where month two lands me. I am feeling fit and starting to see some real muscle definition popping out! My energy levels are great, I feel like I could go forever! Now I am able to run 3 miles, just step out the door and don’t stop, compared to 4 months ago I had trouble running 2 minutes without catching my breath.

**I am one week into Month 2 of insanity now, and it has already started to become easier to get through the whole 45-60 min workout at full intensity. I have faith by the end of this month, i will be able to do much more than I am even able to do now. Which is the best reward for all your hard work!

Hopefully this helps someone somewhere. I will continue to post informative blogs on some of the other topics I mentioned before. Remember to KEEP GOING.

BeckiGetBetter

I am 5'8" by the way, I forgot to include that.

christygb

Way to go! Congratulations on your fantastic results.

BeckiGetBetter

Thank you very much! It looks like you've made leaps and bounds yourself! Congrats! Keep up the good work.